Dreaming of great adventures and of standing up for his homeland, a young Portuguese man enlists in the army in World War I and is eventually sent to the front line in Mozambique. The year is 1917 and the war unfolds across the African continent away from the eyes of the world.
For the young soldier, is the opportunity to live his dreams of glory, waiting for the day when he will at last take on the Germans.
Sick and delirious from malaria, he is left behind by his platoon, setting out on a gruelling trek across the country, facing the reality of an unknown and cruel world, as he enters the mystic native lands of the Makua.
International Film Festival Rotterdam – OPENING FILM – BIG SCREEN COMPETITION
43 Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo – WINNER CRITICS CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
35 Mostra de Valencià Cinema del Mediterrani – WINNER BEST PHOTOGRAPHY (Adolpho Veloso) AND WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (Justin Melland)
Prémios Sophia 2021: Vencedor: Melhor Actor Principal – João Nunes Monteiro
Melhor Actor Secundário – Filipe Duarte (Prémio Póstumo)
Melhor Guarda-Roupa – Lucha D’Orey
Melhor Caracterização e Efeitos Secundários – Mário Gaspar, Nuno Esteves “Blue”, Pedro Vercesi
Melhor Som – Francisco Veloso, Gita Cerveira, Philippe Grivel, Tiago Raposinho Melhor Montagem – Gustavo Giani
Brugas International Film Festival – JURY SPECIAL MENTION
34 Braunschweig International Film Festival – JURY SPECIAL MENTION
OTHER FESTIVALS 2020/21 Split Film Festival (Croacia), Waterloo Historical Film Festival (Belgica), Luxembourg City Film Festival (Luxemburgo), Gröningen Film Festival (Países Baixos), Bengaluru Film Festival (Índia), Geneva Film Festival (Suíça), Lucca Film Festival (Itália), Scanorama Film Festival (Lituânia), Split Film Festival (Croácia), Tapei International Film Festival (Taiwan), Hainan Film Festival (China), EnergaCAMERIMAGE (Polónia), Afrika Film Festival (Belgica), Art-Kino (Croacia), Elbe Dock (República Checa), American Film Institute (USA), European Union Film, Showcase Groningen Film Festival (Países Baixos), HipTrip Film Festival (Romenia), Kyoto International Film Festival (Japão), Moscow International Film Festival (Russia), Novos Cinemas (Espanha).
João Nunes Monteiro
João Lagarto
Filipe Duarte
Ana Magaia
Josefina Massango
António Nipita
Sebastian Jehkul
Hermelinda Simela
Maria Clotilde
Gigliola Zacara
Gezebel Macovela
Messias João
Alfredo Brito
Miguel Moreira
Miguel Borges
Cesário Monteiro
João Vicente
Manuel João Vieira
Nuno Preto
Mário Mabjaia
André Dias
Pedro Santos
Valdemar Santos
Ricardo Moura
Miguel Cunha
Dinis Gomes
Directed by: João Nuno Pinto
Written by: Fernanda Polacow and Gonçalo Waddington
Produced by: Paulo Branco
Co-Producer and Executive Producer: Ana Pinhão Moura
Executive Producers: Mário Peixoto and Enrico saraiva
Music by: Justin Melland
Cinematography by: Adolpho Veloso
Film Editing by: Gustavo Giani
Art Direction by: Nuno Mello aka Tigre de Fogo
Costume Design by: Lucha d’Orey
Make-up by: Nuno Esteves
Unit Production Manager Portugal: Sofia Carvalho
Unit Production Manager Mozambique: Capurchande Momade
Production Manager: Ana Pinhão Moura
First Assistant Director: Cesário Monteiro
First Assistant Director Mozambique: Rui Sá Macedo
Second Assistant Director: João Salgado
Third Assistant Director: António Pinhão Botelho
Sound Mixer Mozambique: Gita Cerveira
Boom Operator Mozambique: Vaya Pareemanem
Sound Mixer Portugal: Francisco Veloso
Boom Operator Portugal: David Badalo
Sound Editor: Tiago Raposinho
Foley Recordist: Vladan Nedeljkov and Aleksandra Stojanovic
Recording Mixer: Phillipe Grivel and Matthieu Deniau
First Assistant Camera: Jonás Costa
Second Assistant Camera Mozambique: Custódio Guambe
Second Assistant camera Portugal: Helena Marina
Third Assistant Camera Mozambique: Simione Gamboa
Gaffer: Paulo Silva
Production Assistants: Timóteo Maposse, David Nhanjale, Pedro Ramalhete, Raquel teixeira
“Mosquito is a film that excels in crafting discomfort and uncertainty. Typical of art cinema, it poses many big questions, with few concrete answers. A fierce character study with many important tangents, this ferocious examination of the human condition is a tale of war like none other. “
Nathanial Eker,
UK Film Review
“Fifty-year-old Pinto does an excellent job with Mosquito, and tells an exciting adventure story. Like his examples, Malick and Herzog, he tries to penetrate to the soul of the desperate man, the settler who hopes to find a deeper meaning in derelict, new worlds than in his old life, but who ultimately comes face to face with loneliness, emptiness and despair.”
Gawie Keyser,
De Groene Amsterdammer
“Mosquito has delivered a harrowing account of conflict at its most base and disgusting. But this is not just an anti-war film, it also takes aim at Portugal’s colonial history and at patriarchy itself, viewed here as the framework about which all the violence and evil is built.”
Wendy Ide,
Screen Daily
“Mosquito is a colossal feature film that will allow viewers to leave their confined spaces, to penetrate the spiritual mysteries of this great journey where our hero apprehends the limits of man’s animality. The originality of the narrative is indisputable. (…) The intensity with which the actor inhabits his character gives the work an emotional force rarely seen. Music, photography, locations and the beauty of the images will haunt viewers’ minds for a long time.”
Laurent Cambon,
aVoir-aLire
